From 2022, the French Jockey’s championship (Cravache d’Or) has been decided on a season shortened from 12 months to a more compact 1 March to 31 October. And for the second time in as many years, 34 year-old Maxime Guyon secured the coveted title.

With 196 wins in just 1,100 rides, he beat closest rival, Mickaël Barzalona, by 22, with third-placed Cristian Demuro some distance off with 118. Guyon achieved his first table-topping score in 2019 but needed to wait three years before tasting similar success. In total, the Wertheimer’s retained jockey has amassed three Cravache d’Or gold medals, eight silver, and four bronze. Over his career, he has accumulated 93 Gr.3s, 35 Gr.2s, and an impressive tally of 26 at the highest level.

Attending the AFASEC jockey’s school, and beginning his apprenticeship with André Fabre in 2003, Guyon landed his first race for the Chantilly master at Cluny two years later. His first Gr.1 came in 2009 aboard Cavalryman in the Grand Prix de Paris, again for Fabre. In 2020, just 15 years after opening his account, Guyon passed the 2,000-wins mark in France. At a strike-rate of just under 15%, he has notched up 2,684 victories from 18,437 rides. 

Among the more prestigious domestic races he has won are four of the five classics, the Prix Royal-Oak still missing, the Grand Prix de Paris and the Grand Prix de Saint-Cloud. He has won a dozen or so foreign Gr.1s, notably the Hong Kong Derby on Ambitious Dragon, when trained by Tony Millard. Despite a number of rides, he has yet to win his main objective, the Arc.

He has two Breeders’ Cup rides this weekend, Kelina in the Mile, and superb Arc-finisher, Onesto, in the Turf.